Yeilding
by theleague-ofshadows
Summary: "No-" He answered, gripping her wrist. "But I will always yield to you." Talia opened her mouth to fire back with a retort when the meaning behind his words sunk in. She turned her wide eyes to his and gaped at him as she tried to comprehend how he could remember such a childish game. A game formulated so long ago and used to give her confidence. Bane/Talia


Ever since its inception, the game has been all that they had. Through the days and the years, the nights and the dawns. This form of play was the peak of each talent, every morsel of claiming dominance.

Talia, now no more than ten years old, circled the cell, her eyes locked on Bane as if she would turn her gaze astray, she would die. She had mastered the game. Her foe and she had practiced this dance through and through until she knew each flex of his muscle. She could tell his motives.

The game began with the sound of a certain exhale from one of the two. Then she moved. Her feet took her left while her opponent moved right and they collided and tumbled onto the cot. Her partner kept his weight purposefully away from crushing her, and Talia heaved as she wrestled him until she was out from under and wrapped her dainty hands around his neck. She inhaled sharply as he swung his body around, sending her small body away from his and to the edge of the bed. Talia tried not to laugh as she ran for him once more and tackled him. Bane purposefully slowed his actions so the child could restrain him. She smiled triumphantly as the man beneath her slowed his motions.

"I yield." He muttered, pretending to be tired from the sparring. She beamed though he could not see and then stepped back to sit gracefully down onto the mattress that they both shared. She pulled her half of the covers high over her head before she settled them into her lap and continued to smile. Bane resisted the urge to fake a pout, for he knew that she would only make fun of that. He was ready to sleep. She was ready to climb mountains.

She never wanted to sleep.

But this ritual, this game, it was the honest ending to every night. Each evening, one of the two (most commonly Talia) would triumph over the other in making the other yield first. The dance they pursued each evening was the ending to yet another day.

Talia would have those moments. The ones where she felt small, dainty, and feeble. She would begin to get scared. She knew. She would have nightmares. The men of the Pit, unforgiving and merciless. Talia knew what happened to her mother, no matter how much the others tried to conceal the truth.

She would have moments where she felt weak.

And so she screamed. The nights where she did breathe life to the nightmares were like a stab to the heart. She would moan with sorrow as the images of the day flooded back into her mind. She would scream for her mother.

Because she was small.

The last night of her nightmares, Bane looked into the sleeping face of the child. Her face, an emblem of innocence, was never going to be tormented again. The formulation of the practice came from him. He would, then, think of something that would make her feel strong. He would create a momentary justice for her. He would allow her importance and strength.

Talia did not have nightmares since.

The play had become a ritual that was never to be broken. She would always feel strong. She would always dominate.

But, soon the game had lost its significance as a partner had vanished. The skies inhaled one while the darkness trapped the other.

* * *

"Those fucking idiots think the Bat is going to save them."

Bane craned his neck to glance at Barsad who returned with a newspaper in his hand, before he slid into the seat next to him. The cover held a blurred picture of a man dressed fully in black with the security of a mask and cape. The headline read; **JOKER SEIZES CONTROL OF GOTHAM; WE NEED OUR HERO**. Below the title, there was an article written by a Francesca Sascer who claimed the city could only crumble under the current reign, yet the city possessed a hero. He would save Francesca and the city.

Bane rolled his eyes and turned his head to look out the window of the plane.

"They desire reassurance and the propaganda is religion, Barsad." Bane's tone was like steel. He continued to run the worn piece of rope through his fingers.

Barsad grunted before he turned the page. "So what's the deal with her? This isn't like last time. Doesn't she know it's risky to take off so much time from work? Normal people take off a week or two, but she is risking too much taking a month!" He held up the paper and pointed to the woman in the red coat and chestnut curls, turning her head a smiling at an object not photographed. Below the picture read: "Miranda Tate takes a minute to smile with the organic energy organization members at the conference joined at the Gotham City State Department." Barsad jabbed an angry finger at the center of the photo and growled.

Bane closed his eyes and leaned his head against the cushions of the chair. "Do not question her motives."

Barsad frowned, "She's giving me an awful lot of reason to. Tell me Bane, when was the last time you heard from her when she didn't speak of business? I thought she wished to keep this job as a façade. I am sick of having to make calls for her. If she loses this job, I will not work my ass of trying to get it back-"

"You will do whatever I tell you to do for her." Bane interrupted him. Barsad clenched his jaw, but otherwise remained silent. They sat like that for a while before they heard a feminine voice.

"We'll be arriving soon, I suggest you both put on your coats." One of the females instructed. She turned to tell those on the other side of the cabin. Barsad finished the last article in the newspaper before he stood up and reached above their booth to grip his bag. He pulled out the documents that she, Miranda Tate, asked for and continued to separate them into different groups. Bane shifted his vest and put on his gloves. The place they landed was deserted all but one, for there on the platform was an old man dressed in grey.

After the train stopped, those remaining in the cabin stood up and reached for their bags. Upon stepping outside, the cold breeze whipped against their faces. The man in grey stepped closer and reached where Bane stood.

"She told me you wore it." The man's gaze fell from his eyes to Bane's mask, "I just didn't imagine it quite as such."

Bane stared into the man's deep brown eyes before the man handed him a pamphlet. Bane opened the folded paper and read the inside.

"That is the location she has rented for you all. There are three black vehicles out front that will carry you to your destination. Inside each is an envelope that has specific information for each of you. What information lies in each will tell you where to go and complete when you arrive. She has very specific duties for each of you." The man paused and looked at Bane. "Your envelopes are titled."

The man stepped back and out of their path. Bane examined the pamphlet in his hand as he walked. A cabin. The location she bought was a cabin far off in the Alaskan hills. Gotham City being half way around the country, Bane did not fret over the possibility of being seen by a Gotham citizen who could easily recognize his face later on. If so, there was annihilation to perform.

A very specific instruction from Ra's Al Ghul himself, when he was alive. Her father had taught him many things, all until the point of his excommunication and beyond. Bane never ignored a word. Never banished a sentiment.

The walk to the vehicles was long through the fields. The sunlight beaming down on each of them was warm and bright. Though the snow clouds were nearing in, the blue skies stayed vibrant.

The vehicles were large enough to fit in at least ten for each. Barsad and another climbed into the cabin of the first one before Bane and three others followed. The driver kept his eyes on the windshield, he flipped the visor down and pulled off a note and read it. He then flicked his eyes over to the glove department to access the files.

Reading off each name he handed them to each. "Faulkner…Barsad…Kianu…Bane…Pictous"

They each gripped their files and pulled before their eyes. Barsad unraveled the string and pulled the papers from his. His face lit up for once and then he read down the paragraphs and then grimaced. He, however, pushed his papers back into his envelope and pulled a notepad from his pocket and started scribbling.

Bane turned his eyes down to his envelope and ran his thumb over his name scribbled in ink. The indents of the pen were deep under his finger. He did not have a heavy envelope. Reaching inside for the paper, pulled it from its safe encasement and flipped the paper over.

8735

That was the only thing scribbled on his page. His brow furrowed as he looked over the page. Only those four numbers were written. He quickly pushed his paper back into its envelope and didn't think to reseal it.

He didn't know how to react to that. His insides churned as he wondered what the four numbers could mean.

The drive was long and rather unkind as the bumps along the way were consistent and rather annoyingly damageable. The cabin rattled each time the tires rolled higher into the mountains. The sun was starting to set.

This was the third of her many vacations that were less than vacations and more of a planning committee. The weeks turned into months. She was getting higher in her ranks and therefore she knew it was time to start the plan. She knew it was time to begin her reign.

The year prior was so painfully long. Only two letters came of more information and less than a phone call to tell them that she was going to need their company once more. She plotted and she planned all the year and when the month of December came she had chosen to take off the last two weeks and the next few into January. All this time, she would plan.

She was supposed to be on her Christmas vacation two weeks ago. She had left work but she was not where everyone thought she would be. She was hiding. She took that time to think.

Yet now, only a week and five days before her return to her job, she required their presence. The wheels to the van turned and soon they were in front of the winter home she most recently bought. It was giant. So massive compared to the one last. The benefit of her riches was proven in this new home. If it could even be called that.

Bane stepped from the vehicle when the men before him slid out and once his feet touched the ground, there were men coming out to service them. They grabbed their bags and their equipment and then they all left to go inside.

"Fucking unbelievable. She's outdone herself again. Wonder what place she'll purchase next holiday. Best be a beach house in Guam. I'd kiss her ass for months just to get a glimpse of that." Barsad swore to Bane. Bane turned his head and glared at Barsard. He did not care of his wishes. Learn the _purpose_ of this trip.

"She will stick you so far down the line that you won't even see the airport. Do not suggest things to her. She doesn't need to listen."

Barsad shrugged before he stepped through the doorway. Bane and the others were all soon inside and she was nowhere to be seen.

The men did not halt to be shown around. They left in all directions to complete the tasks that she asked of them. Bane pulled the envelope from his pocket and retrieved the paper.

8735

Bane sighed before he turned his eyes around the room and found a hallway. He started to walk that way. The chandeliers from above glistened and the furniture was lavish. The wooden desks and fireplace smelled of pine.

Turning his head, he noticed a desk where he assumed someone was supposed to man. He was going to turn his body and walk down the hall when something caught his eye. There, by the desk, was a wall of brass keys. This wasn't a cabin. It was previously a hotel. They were keys to the rooms. Bane found himself in front of it. He noticed that each key had a number printed on the metal disks hanging from them. 8695. Bane frowned before he let his gaze go further down until he found it.

The key to room 8735.

Bane ripped it from its place on the rack and then he turned quickly. He left to find the room. The halls were deserted and every form of life was gone as he searched the halls. There was a staircase that wound higher and higher until he found himself at the top and the nearest room read 8699.

Bane cautiously walked further and further down the hallway and neared the room. Upon finding it, he stood in front of it for quite some time. His fingers found the knob and cautiously graze it. Not sure if he was ready to open the door.

He closed his eyes and exhaled before he fiddled with the key and opened the door.

The room was dark. The curtains were closed and the lights shut off and no outside lights illuminated the room.

He inched his way into the room, turning his head around to search every corner. He moved to the bathroom and opened the door to find that he was alone. He wondered what he had expected of this. The room was probably his and she just wished for him to know of it. He didn't know what he was searching for.

Then there was a shifting noise and he snapped his head to the side and took in the form of a small figure.

"Bane."

The voice sent his body into a frenzy of shivers and he found the voice so soothing. Reassuring in every form, for he had not heard it for so long.

The lights remained vacant as he tried to glimpse the pale form of her face. She stayed more frozen than ever and he was just as much so before he decided that he should move. He moved slowly to the side of the bed where she was standing and his whole form itched with the impulse to touch her. To feel her skin and give him some form of assurance that it was indeed her and not an imposter. The darkness made for a dreary mood and he could not see her at face, only the outline.

"Talia." He finally mentioned, taking in the fact that she was actually here. Not beyond in another realm where business and plotting was all that she knew. Somewhere that he was not training and building a stronger empire for her.

Someplace beyond the Pit and her father's cause. Somewhere beyond the League and the pain of separation.

"Good friend, I have been away far too long." Her tone was thick with apologies. She remained stoic as Bane reached where she stood.

He exhaled deeply before he curled his fingers into a fist to keep from reaching out and touching her cheek. "You had things to finish." He explained.

She shook her head. "Not finish. Start."

Bane nodded as Talia sat her slim body onto the bed once more and curled her feet up. "I have had quite some work to do."

"Has it been finished?" He asked.

"It is in the works, it still needs to be adjusted but I will have it finished within the new year. Then I will pursue him and require his alliance. He will have to give in, it's the only way. His company needs this, it is escalading quickly. His father's name isn't enough to keep him going. He needs an ally." Bane sat next to her, yet kept a distance.

"Have the recruits been behaving? I have noticed you have built me quite an army." She asked.

Bane breathed heavily through his mask as he turned his head to glimpse her face, it was better to see then. She had rose lips and cheeks along with the chestnut color to her hair. Her blue eyes looked black in the lighting and her pale skin looked ghost-like.

"They do as I command them and I teach them what your father taught me."

"What he taught us." She corrected. She wouldn't let him forget that she, too, was a part of the training.

Bane nodded and turned his head to look over at the window. "This is very elaborate, Talia. What made you choose this location?" He wondered.

She stood up and walked over to the window. Pulling the curtain to the side, she stood there a while. Bane stood up when he noticed that she was standing for quite some time and made his way to her side. "Down there, right by the lily pond, that gazebo was the only thing that changed my mind. Do you remember when we went to Bali with the League?" She asked. Bane nodded as she continued. "I found a sanctuary so similar when I was there. You were off for the day, doing separate things, but I sat there and grew incredibly sad."

Bane frowned as he thought of her.

"I was not ready to go. My father sent me far too early. The time I had spent there I killed a man in cold blood because I was ordered to. I never wanted to." She flicked her fingers around the curtain. "I sat there with cold tears on my cheeks and the dry feeling in my stomach that was resurrected with each second that passed. I was only a child."

Bane kept his eyes on her. "I sat there, exhausted and feeling retched for confusing my actions, when I saw a bird. The bird flew inside, nested itself up at the top and sang for me. It flitted, turned in such agitated motions, but it sang. I turned my tear filled gaze up to the bird, so brown and slim; it was really quite ugly. But the song it sang made everything else silent. There was no form of anything beyond its voice."

She turned her eyes up to Bane and smiled. "After that day I did not question my motives because the small bird proved to me that there is beauty in the world. That what we do makes way for a better life. We did not do injustice. We cleared a path for a better future."

Bane looked into her eyes and she looked back smiling. "I bought this place because it reminded me that when I am finished, I can claim a salvation very much like this. My family will be together in a home much nicer than the one we are presently standing in. When this task is finished I can be with my father, I can spend time with my mother. I will be safe beyond." She trailed off, her eyes locking with his. "We will be safe."

Bane was emotionless as he stared at her and tried to depict the emotions playing across her face. She looked at him without faltering.

The woman, so particularly intoxicated with the idea of familiarity and virtuous causes, stepped around the man who could not save his pride when she touched his shoulder or called for his name. This woman, who claimed she could rid the world of its vile pawns, could bend the man who stood front with the twist of her delicate wrist without the knowledge that she even held the power. She knew of her strength, of her abilities. Though she always figured that he, so massive and mighty, held the reign in the relationship.

For a woman of such natural beauty, keen tactics, as well as the ability to model deceptive agendas at the turn of the clock, how could she bear the burden?

Bane felt the crystallization of his skin as her fingertips grazed whatever was open for her. She rested her palm against his collar bone, the vest interfering with her efforts, though she still effortlessly laid her fingers on his flesh. The constant beating of his pulse at the edge of his neck thrummed under her fingers. The woman, who had once been only a child of tiny proportions and such innocence, stood before him with nothing to offer beyond the daring admiration that she tried so strongly to suffice. The clearness of her eyes and the depth of each emotion was all that was as she let her blue orbs search his equally blue ones. The ones she only saw for limited amounts. The time never seemed to be enough to truly take in the details of his figure. Of his form.

"Time has made a fool of me. I have forgotten almost every aspect of this form." She took her fingers from his collar to the side of his face and barely touched the edge of his eyebrow and then slid her fingers down to the edge of his mask. "Too long has it been since I have been able to set eyes on your face. I must say that I don't understand my strength to do any of this without you."

Bane breathed cautiously as she slid her thumb across the metal pipe that lead down where his nostril would be. "You had… certain criteria that led you to the proper stance you hold so genuinely. I had nothing to do with it."

Talia's eyes flashed to his. She inhaled sharply and her fingers froze on his face. She dropped them to her side. "You had everything to do with it. From enhancing my father's revelation to the stature I hold now. You have welded your life around mine for my satisfaction, and for that I may never be given the chance to repay you. Do not speak lightly of the things you have accomplished to please me, Bane. I will not be serviced with self-modesty. Recognize the truths of your actions. Believe that I appreciate them beyond the ability to acknowledge aloud. Do not be so naïve as to believe that I have not noticed how you yield to me. I cannot give you everything, but I most certainly can provide you with my admiration."

She exhaled slightly irritated, though the statement was only a reminder. Bane looked down to her face, her curls swarming her pale cheeks. Yeilding. The only thing as natural as dominating. For she would always hold the highest position and he would always conform to be what she wished.

Finally, Bane lifted his hand to grip the lock of hair masking her face and pulled it past her cheek and behind her ear. Talia lifted her chin and kept her lips in a thin line as she tried her hardest to keep her composure. She looked into his eyes as he looked into hers and for once it seemed, Bane held the supremacy.

* * *

"They cannot withdraw their alliance; we have spent three _years_ working together. What the bloody fuck would make them change their mind?" Talia fumed with incentive. She slammed her fist against the oak table in the central gathering area as she held an audience of four. Bane and Barsad were sitting opposite each other at the table when one of the analysts she hired cleared his throat and skeptically turned his eye around the room. He caught the eye of his partner and nodded.

"They believe the project to be a farce."

Talia made a sound of strangled outrage. "They helped to structure it!"

The man shook his head. "We just couldn't convince them to stay. Their motives as to constricting their partnership is unknown. I am sorry, ma'am."

Talia shut her eyes and breathed heavily through her nose. She clenched the edge of the table with strength. She stood so still for seconds on end that everyone in the room dared not break the silence. Bane watched her with interest and just as equal sympathy. This only delayed the plan more. A plan that was crafted so precisely that any fracture in the plan could crumble the deadline. They were only pushed further back because of the recent events.

Talia finally opened her eyes. "Call Benedict, Galston. I would like to schedule a meeting with the Mayor. Ask if the possibility of an interview with the city's energy association can be assembled. I will find resources elsewhere."

She released her grip on the oak table and without another look, left the room and its recipients in the gloom of her previous wrath. Her heels were loud as she exited the room; a bruising reality when that was the only sound made.

* * *

A bird does not wish to be captured.

Bane entered her room. He knew where he would find her. She was sitting in the chair, her legs crossed and arms gripping the other until they felt numb. She kept her gaze on the window as he neared her side. It had been hours. He gave her space; gave her time to extinguish the fire.

"No woman wishes to prolong her death, surely you cannot judge my outburst." She inhaled, pulling one of her arms up to pinch the bridge of her nose.

Bane perceived her strangely nonchalant expression. He could do nothing but stand and look at her.

"This sets us back at least five years. The data and information we had has vanished. Fallen from my fingertips so effortlessly. Everything I have worked for, every year of constant attention has been washed down the drain." She stood up and walked around where he stood and found her way to the bathroom. She leaned down to the sink and ran the water through her fingers before she let it soothe her face.

Pulling a towel off the rack to wipe her face, she walked out of the bathroom. Yet she paused. She stood staring off into space, all the while, he watched her.

"I have devoted three years of my life. I do not deserve such consequences." She clenched her hands into fists. "I have spent my life only serving a purpose dear and close to my heart. Only to have it ruined. Where are my attempts to go? I cannot do five more years of this! I cannot wait any longer! He must die. They all must die!" She screamed with rage. "I can patch up the work but I have lost so much! I have had too many things taken from me! Fuck them! Fuck them all-" She threw the towel to the floor and reached for the bathroom door when Bane walked to her. She noticed and turned to face him.

"_You_ do not deserve to wait any longer! You have felt my pain. You are the only one who has felt my loss! Rip them apart, Bane. Tear them down. I will not be weak any longer! I will find them and accomplish vengeance so merciless that they will plead for death. I am finished with feeling frail."

"They will, Talia. In time." Bane calmly spoke.

Talia shook her head violently. "I will not wait. Do not tell me to be patient."

Bane stepped closer. "Talia-"

"Do not tell me to wait, Bane. Damn you." Talia stared defiantly in his eyes. Bane shook his head and reached for her but she flinched from him and walked around.

"It is the only thing we can do." He reasoned.

"I will not yield to any one!"

"No-" He answered, gripping her wrist. "But I will always yield to you."

Talia opened her mouth to fire back with a retort when the meaning behind his words sunk in. She turned her wide eyes to his and gaped at him as she tried to comprehend how he could remember such a childish game. A game formulated so long ago and used to give her confidence. To mold her with the idea that she held strength that could take down even him. She felt his fingers clench around her wrist and she exhaled quietly.

"We will wait, Talia. With patience comes the most satisfying reward. And with time, we will spend each second focused on what matters most." He did not say what that was. She could figure it out.

Talia lowered her shoulders and slowly began to calm herself. She felt his fingers release her wrist and let her stand still. She kept her eyes on him even as he turned to pick up the towel that she threw and shut the light off to the bathroom and shut the door.

She would restart. Pick up where the fractured deal left her and she would remodel until the deal was completed and she was free to do her worst. She kept her eyes on Bane as he came to her side and offered her companionship for a night walk around the estate.

She had to regain her ability to speak to agree.

In the night's end, Talia lay in bed thinking of yielding, and then of Bane, for whom she had always yielded, in secret and every other form. She just hadn't realized.


End file.
